The Mid-Coast Trolley project, an 11-mile extension of San Diego’s existing trolley line, is set to open on Nov. 21, 2021.
The project began in the Fall of 2016 as a response to congested highways along the city’s mid-coast corridor. According to the San Diego Administration of Governments, this problem is likely to worsen as the population is set to increase by 19 percent over the next ten years, with employment expected to grow by 12 percent in the same time.
The extension will add nine new stops to the existing line. The new route will start at Old Town station and run through key centers of culture and commerce including Mission Bay Park, the University of California San Diego, the San Diego Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Scripps Memorial Hospital, Downtown San Diego, and the University Town Center Mall.
City officials are optimistic about the project’s effect on the local community. The extension has already created 120 new jobs for railway employees and will increase public access to jobs, healthcare, and education. To kickstart the project, the federal government matched state funding with $1 billion. Overall, the Mid-Coast Trolley extension is estimated to have a $116 million annual impact.
As the project nears completion, representatives of the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System say the next few months will be geared towards safety checks and training new employees. According to MTS officials, the new line will be up and running on Nov. 21, 2021.